Resources

The site has been developed to include a number of resources for those interested in the Irish experience of the American Civil War. These include a reading list, details on Irish born Generals and Brevet Generals, After Action Reports, Regimental Nativity graphics, Regimental Losses, Irish casualties of the Fetterman Fight and Donors to the Irish Relief Fund.

Hi Damian,
I love your website. I am researching my 3rd great grandfather, Joseph McCabe who was a member of the 182nd New York, a regiment in the Corcoran Legion. Joseph was wounded in action before Petersburg, VA. He was sent to DeCamp hospital, David’s Island NY. He had his arm amputated and died from his wounds in 1867. Would you happen to have any information about this regiment ? I read alot about Corcoran and his other regiments. Thank you.

Damian, is there a possibility of getting in contact with anyone from Dublin, please? The reason I ask is that I have some details of the death of a Confederate Navy officer in that city, and would like to try and find out exactly where he is buried. Thanks for any help or contact with anyone in Dublin.

Mr. Shiels: Are you aware that the International Irish Famine Commemoration is being held in New Orleans LA in November 2014? As you know, New Orleans was the source of many of the Irish Confederate soldiers, many of whom arrived in New Orleans during the Famine years. My great great grandfather, John Judge, was with the 10th Louisiana Infantry, which was part of Lee’s Foreign Legion. John Judge was taken POW on May 11, 1864 during Spotsylvania battle. He was born in Roscrea, Co. Tipperary, in 1823. His brother, Arthur, had a son, also John Judge (Union soldier), who was killed during the Spotsylvania battle on May 14, 1864. So, uncle and nephew both participated in the American Civil War but on different sides. The nephew’s wife was pregnant and the child, John George Judge, was born in August, 1864 and registered in NYC. The US Government gave the mother passage money to return to Ireland, and she did go back to live with Arthur Judge, the child’s grandfather. The website for the Irish Famine event is: ifnola2014.org.

I am just back from a visit to Ireland and met, for the first time, John George Judge’s great great granddaughter. We were able to connect through ancestry.com.

I am it is great to see it in New Orleans. It is great to hear about your Judge ancestor- it is actually a name I have come across in relation to Nenagh before- there were many Federals from the twon too, so it is more than likely that John fought opposite some men from the same town as him. It is incredible that his nephew was at Spotsylvania. Do you have much documentation relating to them? Theirs is a story I would love to explore further. I am glad you got to visit the area where they were originally from. I recently wrote to the Irish Minister responsible for the Famine Commemoration asking that he consider mentioning the Irish of the American Civil War during the speeches in New Orleans. You can read about that here: http://irishamericancivilwar.com/2014/07/04/american-independence-day-remembering-how-ireland-forgets/

I don’t have any personal Confederate military records for my GG grandfather, John Judge, such as a discharge document or pension application. I did purchase (online) a book, “Lee’s Foreign Legion, A History of the 10th Louisiana Infantry” by Thomas W. Brooks and Michael D. Jones. John Judge is listed in the book as a member of Company “I”, Tirailleurs D’Orleans. The book shows John Judge was imprisoned at Fort Delaware and then transferred to the Old Capital Prison in Washington DC. I would think the transfer might have been the other way around–first at Old Capital Prison and then to Fort Delaware but I do not know too much about such matters. I also have in my computer those National Park records on Civil War soldiers; it seems John Judge’s records were combined in the records of a Greek fellow, John George Metilieno (also a member of the 10th Infantry), who died at Fort Delaware in Aug 1864.

If there were any personal Confederate records for my GG grandfather, they were probably with my 1st cousin, twice removed, Anna Judge Veters Levy. Her middle name was Judge; she was one of John Judge’s grandchildren. She was the first elected female judge in the State of Louisiana. When she became a judge, she always used the name: Judge Anna Judge Veters Levy. Veters was her maiden name and Levy was her married name. She died in 1964. Her records were destroyed in Hurricane Katrina in 2005. Her husband remarried and the records remained with him and his third spouse.

As to John Judge the nephew, he is in the National Park records and the 1901 Irish census records for Nenagh show his son, John Judge, with a birthplace of America.

An interesting thing about my GG grandfather is that his first child born after the Civil War, a son, Dennis Joseph Judge, is listed in some US census records as “Mosby” Judge. I wondered where that nickname came from and then I learned about Col. John Singleton Mosby, the Gray Ghost. My GG grandfather was in prison with some of Mosby’s men so I guess that is the origin of the nickname.

Thanks so much for providing this additional detail! It was a very appropriate choice of profession by your cousin :-) I don’t actually have the book on the 10th Louisiana yet although it is on my ‘to get’ list given the regiment’s number of Irish. I have had a look at John’s service record in the 10th. As you outlined it records him as captured at Spotsylvania Court House on May 11th 1864 and being sent to Fort Delaware arriving there on 17th June. It really is quite amazing the numbers from around Nenagh in the Civil War. The very first soldier to die in the conflict was from near there, and I consistently come across them.